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J'. E. HIGGINS. I

MEAT CLAMP.

,403. Patented July 22,1884.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JAMES E. HIGGINS, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 302,403, dated J'uly22, 1884.

, Application filed November 12, 1883. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, JAMEs E. HIGGINS, of the city and county ofProvidence, and Statel of Rhode Island, have invented a new and usefulImprovementin Meat-Clamps; and I hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact de cription of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention has reference to devices for securing joints of meat, sothat slices can be readily cut from the same; and the inventionvconsists in the peculiar and novel construction of abase or platformhavingaixed curved abutment at one end, and an adjustable sliding clampprovided with a rack and pinion, and a latch for securing the saine, `aswill be more fully set forth hereinafter.

Figure Il is a perspective view of the i1nproved clamp. Fig. 2 is asectional View of the same. Fig. 3 is an end View of the sliding clampand the platein whichit is secured. In the. drawings, A is the base. Bis the fixed curved abutment secured to thebase A. C is a slotted platesecured to the base A, in which the sliding clamp D is held by thedovetail projection d entering a corresponding way formed in the plateC. The abutment B and clamp D are provided with the serrations or teethb b, so as to enter the meat and firmly hold the same. The rearwardprojection d is provided" at its lower surface with rack-teeth, intowhich the pinion E gears, the shaft of the pinion E has the ratchet-gearc secured to it, and is provided with the crank e'. A pawl, c2, entersthe ratchetwheel and holds the same against rotation in one direction.

The operation of the device is as follows: A joint of meat is placedbetween th'e abutment B and the clamp D. The crank e is now turned toforce the clamp against the meat and compress the same between the twocurved abutments. The pawl e2 holds the ratchet e and the gear E, andthereby secures the sliding clamp D, thus firmly holding the meat, sothat slices may be cut from the same with great facility. I do not,however, wish to confine myself to this exact construction, as thedevice may be modified, one modification being to provide the rearwardextension d of the sliding clamp on its upper surface with ratchet-teethand place a hinged pawlso as to engage with the same', therebydispensing with the ratchet-wheel e. A practically useful device canthus be constructed, in which the sliding clamp D is pushed against themeat by the hand and retained in this position by the hinged pawl. Bythe use of the crank, rack, and pinion, the force exerted is, howl ever,much greater, and the meat can be more firmly secured. y

It will be seen that by the peculiar arrange ment and construction ofthe movable clamp and its operative connections the entrance of piecesof meat. or grease or dirt between the parts is prevented, which rendersthe device especially applicable for tllepurpose above set forth.

Having thus described 1nyinvention,I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with the base A, provided withthe slotted plate C and with the fixed clamp B, lof the movable clamp D,having the rack, the pinion E, ratchet-whecl e, pawl c2, and handle e',substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2;' The combination, with` the base A, hav? ing the fixed clamp B andthe slotted plate O, of the movable clamp D,having a rack and a pawl forcontrolling the movement of said clamp, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hand.

JAMES E. HIGGINS.

hereunto set my Witnesses:

J. A. MILLER, Jr., M. F. BLIGH. l.

